Wild neighbors – great horned owls
There are at least 12 species of owl that live in Colorado, from the small burrowing owl that makes its home in abandoned prairie dog burrows, to the rare and striking white snowy owl, to the adorable but rarely seen northern saw-whet owl.
The most commonly seen owl in Castle Pines (and the rest of Colorado and North America) is the great horned owl, which is also the largest Colorado owl. Named for their plumicorns, the tufts or horn-like feathers on their head that do not aid in hearing but can indicate mood, these owls can have a wingspan of up to five feet. They have special sound-dampening feathers that allow them to fly almost silently, a characteristic of many, but not all, species of owl. Great horned owls have remarkably large eyes, even by owl standards. Their eyes are almost as large as a human’s and they can see 10 times better than a human during the day and 100 times better at night. They cannot move their eyes within the sockets but instead can rotate their heads 270 degrees.
Great horned owls are well camouflaged in shades of brown with mottling and horizontal barring. They have yellow eyes and a white throat patch that varies in size with the individual. Their hoot is a low-pitched hoo-hoo, hoo, hoo, typically lasting four or five syllables. The owls hunt at night and sometimes dusk. Although they are opportunistic and will eat almost anything small enough to catch, locally they feed primarily on small mammals, such as mice and rabbits. Keep a close eye on small pets at night, to keep them off the menu.
Like most owls, great horned owls do not build their own nests. Instead, they take over old nests of other raptors—such as red-tailed hawks or bald eagles—herons, or even the leaf nests of squirrels. The females typically lay eggs some time from January to March, with incubation of two to four eggs for about 35 days; then owlets stay in the nest for four to five weeks before fledging.
For more information visit cpw.state.co.us or audubon.org and search “great horned owl.”
This great horned owl was caught on a neighbor’s back porch. His wing span was several feet when he flew away.
Article by Rachel Poe; photo by Terri Wiebold
